1.7 Reading Comprehension (page 41)

1. Mount Everest

       Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain.  It stands 29,028 feet (8848 meters) above sea level.
Mount Everest is relatively young, having been formed only 60 million years ago, and it is still growing
a few millimeters every year! Mount Everest is in the mountain range called the Himalayas.  The summit
ridge of Mount Everest separates Nepal and Tibet.  Each place has a special name for this giant mountain.
The Nepalese name is Sagarmatha, which means "goddess of the sky". The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, which means "mother goddess of the universe".  In English, Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest, the first person to record the height and location of the mountain. A climb to the summit was attempted by George Mallary in 1922, who famously gave his reason for wanting to climb Everest as "because it's there".  He attempted to reach the summit again in the company of Andrew Irvine in 1924, but on this trip both climbers disappeared.  The first successful ascent (and descent) of Mount Everest was accomplished by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953.  Between 1921 and 2007, over two thousand people have climbed Mount Everest, some more than once. Since the first ascent in 1953, more than 600 climbers from 20 different countries have reached the summit.  However, over two hundred climbers have died attempting to climb Mount Everest, most commonly from avalanches, but also from falls in crevasses, cold , or high-altitude sicknesses.

      

Answer the question.

1.  How high is Mount Everest?
     c. 29,028 feet
     d. 8848 meters

2.  In what way does Mount Everest change annually?
     d.  It is growing a very small amount.

3.  Mount Everest is in the mountain range called the.............
     c.  Himalayas

4.  Who wanted to climb Mount Everest "because it's there"?
     a.  George Mallory

5.  The first team to successfully reach the summit was......................
     b.  Edmunc Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

6.  Since 1953, how many people have reached the summit?
     d.  more than 600

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Exercise 1.6 Skimming (page 40)

Nose Matters

Find the statement that is the main idea of the passage. Write MI next to it.
Then find the details of the passage. Write D next to each detail.  Be careful, 
There are two sentences that do not belong to this passage.

1.  Elephants use their trunks to greet each other.                 D
2.  Elephants use their trunks to give themselves a shower .   D
3.  Some people like to ride on elephants.                             -
4.  Elephants can carry heavy things with their trunks.           D
5.  Mother elephants calm their babies by stroking them
     with their trunks.                                                             D
6.  Elephants use their trunks to eat and drink.                      D
7.  Elephants use their noses for smelling and breathing.        D
8.  Elephants have very useful noses.                                   MI
9.  Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world.                       -

Exercise 1.6 Skimming (part B)

B.  After each paragraph, underline the sentence that conveys the main idea. Then, put a tick(/) after the sentence you would choose as the paragraph's closing sentence.

1.  We feel pain when we burn our fingers or prick other parts of our body with a pin or thorn.  This is because almost every part of the body has many nerves in it. As soon as these nerves feel pain, they carry a message to the brain.  This is a warning to you that some part of your body is in danger.

          b. Nerves are good carriers of messages./

2.  Your voice comes from a little box in your throat.  This box is called the larynx.  Two soft, thin sheets of tissue called vocal chords stretch across the box.  When these change shape and vibrate, they produce sounds that make up your voice.

          a.  Our vocal chords are amazing in  what they can do. /

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C. Complete the details about these passages and then identify their main idea.

1.  Detail: A galaxy is a grouping of stars.

2.  Detail: There are many other galaxies in outer.

3.  Detail: It is a spiral - shaped galaxy.

4.  Detail: The Milky Way looks like a milky white stripe in the sky.

5.  Detail: One of the stars in the Milky Way is the Earth.

6.  Detail: Scientists believe there are about 200 billion stars in it.

Main idea:  The Milky Way is our galaxy.